Best Boss

“I’m very humbled, first of all to be chosen. It’s a great honor. There are a lot of great bosses out there. To be nominated is a tremendous honor. I think a lot of it is the culture we’ve developed. We have a great culture here at Bryan Construction. Our mission statement is about having fun in it, we do a lot of activities with the employees, including a standing barbecue every month. We just have a great culture. That’s not just me; that’s the attitude, I think. It’s everybody.” — Scott Bryan

Best Business Power LUNCH and Happy Hour

From its website: “Our goal is for you to have a memorable time. We hope to obtain this through amazing service, as well as vibrant aromas and flavors. We like to think that there is no such thing as a bad combination of ingredients in food or drink, as long as quality ingredients are being used, the proportions are appropriate, and there is a level of excellence in the execution.”

Best Business with a Social Media Presence

“While residential property management is the same at its core, our company focuses on far more than just collecting the rent and coordinating maintenance for the property. All Seasons is currently the only certified residential management company in southern Colorado and one of fewer than 50 worldwide (a certification the company received from the National Association of Residential Property Managers in 2008). We have clients and customers that truly believe in what we do. [We will] continue what we have done for the past 30 years — provide quality, well-managed rental homes with a great emphasis on service and maintaining what is likely one of the homeowner’s biggest investments to the highest standards. Through doing this, we continually strive to give a better name to our industry and landlords, as a whole.” — Matt Rogers, vice president

Best Farmers Market

Old Colorado City Farmers Market

Bancroft Park

Year Established: 1982

Number of employees: 1

Why do you think the market earned this recognition?

“We have a real farmers market — not a place to see stuff that should be in a flea market. Every week, we have four or five farmers, with real food. We sell specialty food, but not a lot of crafts.” — Frank Schmidt

Best Golf Tournament

“The Mayor’s Cup is deserving of the award because of its tradition of supporting great city causes. Specifically, Spirit of the Springs and scholarships for individuals wishing to pursue city careers such as police, fire and/or city administration positions. Secondly, we support The First Tee of Pikes Peak, which uses golf to teach nine core values to underprivileged youth.” — Cathy Matthews-Kane,
general manager of the Country Club of Colorado and an organizer of the event

Best Networker

“Many of our competitors are adamant about not visiting their customers’ sites. Remote support is far more efficient. We make a point of being on-site at each of our client sites at least monthly. Facetime is inefficient; and it is critical to client satisfaction and retention. Our clients tell us that they stay with us because we are responsive, friendly and competent. One client recently remarked that, ‘Amnet support is reliable as dial tone.’ I can think of a few things more consistent like the sun rising in the east, but dial tone is pretty good. I’ll take it.” — Trevor Dierdorff, CEO

Best New Place to Eat, Meet and Greet

“I think my business philosophy is always trying to improve our food and service, and changing our menu to change with the times. Food is constantly changing. Making sure our staff and customers are happy and having a great experience when they come in.” — Joe Campana, owner

“We’ve been doing this for 11 years. I think people really appreciate the quality of service you get. And since we’re not exclusively tied to any single dry cleaning facility, we get to pick and choose the best for our customers. We’re kind of like a professional athlete’s agent, always looking out for our clients’ best interests.”

Best Place to Grab a Cup of Coffee

“I think it’s our fast, high-energy and genuine business. We stay true to our core values of speed, quality and service and don’t sacrifice one for another. We make sure everything we serve is of the utmost quality and if someone doesn’t love it the first time, we’ll replace it for free.” — Dave Szopa, regional manager

Best Place to Grub and Run (Food Truck)

“In reference to, ‘Best Place to Grub and Run,’ that’s exactly what we’re trying to do. We let our customers know where we will be parked and at what times to make it easy to grab food that is served from a food truck but tastes like it’s from a restaurant. And we don’t just serve Latin food — we also serve pig. I think we fill a void in town and keep up with modern business practices.” — Andres Velez, owner

Best Networking Group

“Cool Grrrls started when one of my friends was talking about how she had more time to connect with other women since her daughters were older — but that she didn’t know how to do that. We started a group so our friends could meet the cool friends of our cool friends. I’m astounded as how it’s grown. We had maybe 10 people the first time. And we just keep getting bigger and bigger. There’s no agenda — it’s a non-networking networking event. It’s a chance to connect with the friends of your friends. You know you have cool friends, so come meet the cool friends of your cool friends.” — Carrie Simison, publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent, founder of Cool Grrrls

Best Place for a Business Lunch

“I have been going there for over a decade and the food and service have never changed. They have both always been great. That’s hard to accomplish for such an extended period and it is the reason for its consistent success, plus the room just feels great to be in. It has the ‘X Factor’ some rooms have.” — Perry Sanders, owner

Best Place to Grab a Bloody Mary and a Breakfast Meeting

“We strive to keep our menus fresh and innovative, sourcing locally when possible and committed to the communities that we choose to do business in. We create an environment for our employees that encourages and rewards hard work and offers an upward track for those interested in a career in hospitality. We promote a balanced approach to life with all employees that stresses health, wellness and enjoying work.” — Randy Price, owner

Best Place to Pamper Your Pet

“Wag ‘n Wash started as a way for Dan and Jef to leave the chaos of the corporate world and do something they were passionate about (work with dogs and dog-people). Their focus hasn’t changed — they’re active in the community and support many local events and nonprofits. The company’s one–sentence business philosophy is simple and direct: It’s where you can wash ‘em, feed ‘em and spoil ‘em all in one cool place!” — Sue Ager, marketing director

Best Place to Pamper Yourself

From its website: “We pride ourselves on customer service. If there is anyway we can serve you better, please tell us. Everyone who enters our facility is to have a wonderful, relaxing experience. Our treatments are top notch (and so is our staff!) so come relax with us… you’re in the best of hands.”

Best Place to Tame Your Mane (Hairdresser)

“I think our customers appreciate our business’s community involvement. We’re a local company that gives back and supports Colorado Springs’ for-profits and nonprofits to keep the city amazing. We’re everywhere in the community when needed and I think our customers appreciate that because they want to align themselves and spend their money with a purpose.” — Carrie Perkins, owner

Best Place to Work

“We are driven to provide the highest level of service we can. Within the organization, we have a number of awards. One is the Core Value Award given monthly. Another is the You Rock based on performance, and we have the Above and Beyond Award that can be given on the spot — a gift certificate. We have a commercial side and a multi-family side — those are our clients, the residents and the tenants.” — B.J. Hybl, president

Best radio station for business news

From last year’s Best in Business: “While the station doesn’t focus exclusively on business, it does devote a lot of airtime to business-related stories and financial advice. Tune in early — 5 a.m. — for KRDO’s morning news show and stay tuned throughout the day for nationally syndicated shows to include Dave Ramsey and Sean Hannity, or listen to local favorites Mike Lewis, Paul Richards and Joel Navarro.”

Best Sustainable Business

“TechWears naturally gains a lot of attention because the product line is very unique, yet strangely familiar. People are accustomed to wearing jewelry and apparel accessories, and society is accustomed to interacting with technology throughout the day, but to see the two combined together is a unique and memorable experience.” — Drew Johnson, founder

(tie) Best Sustainable Business

“Throughout the past three years, Seeds has helped 32 people find full-time jobs, has served 60,000 meals and has trained 367 people through its healthy cooking program. It has also facilitated the volunteerism of 2,000 people who have accumulated more than 30,000 hours of service. The cafe’s ethos is all about serving fresh, healthy, locally sourced meals to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay. At Seeds, you can pay the daily recommended donation for your meal, and you can ‘pay it forward’ by buying a meal for the next customer. If unable to pay, customers can also volunteer for an hour to earn their meal. We believe that food is where the conversation begins about community, about fighting food insecurity, about access to and education about fresh, healthy food. We give people a hand up, not a hand out, and we empower people with the power of food.” — Lyn Harwell, founder and head chef

Best Urban Redevelopment

“The inspiration was based on this idea of an industrial ecology — aligning businesses, uses and facility to facilitation the creation of products. We wanted to create a sense of symbiosis with the brewery at one end and then use the byproducts from that for other industries. For instance, we’ll soon lease space for a greenhouse that will use the spent grains and other byproducts in its gardens. The heat from the brewery can be recycled back into the building. The gray water can be used for irrigation. At the beginning, the idea was to create a functional space to align business and the environment. We wanted to build creative loops — the more loops you have, the more sustainable you are.” — Jim Fennell, architect for Ivywild

Having been revered as the best park in America, and one of the best in the world, there’s not much left to say about Garden of the Gods, a Colorado Springs icon and national treasure. From hiking to climbing to mountain biking — or just sitting and staring — the park encompasses the best the Centennial State has to offer, to include incomparable beauty. And the greatest thing is, while millions from around the globe travel thousands of miles to gaze upon the coppery towering sandstones set against piercing blue skies, if you live in Colorado Springs, it’s right in your backyard.